U.S. media giant Oprah Winfrey was named on Monday by Forbes Magazine as the highest-paid celebrity, topping the list of America's most powerful stars for four years in a row.
The talk show host-turned-media mogul has earned 165 million dollars between May 2011 and May 2012, representing a big drop of 125 million dollars from last year, but still enough to warrant a top place on the list of 20 most moneyed stars including film and television actors, musicians and creators.
Winfrey, who launched her media empire after ending her signature syndicated talk show last year, owns struggling cable network OWN, according to the magazine. She also runs three programs including Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and The Dr. Oz Show, and a satellite radio station.
Director Michael Bay, helmsman on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" which is the third installment of the popular Transformer series, was No. 2 with 160 million dollars to his name. Bay bagged 1.1 billion dollars from the 3-D blockbuster hit in addition to profits from Transformer toys.
Ranking in third place is veteran film director and producer Steven Spielberg who has garnered 130 million dollars with a lion' s share coming from sales of his classic films. He is also helped by earnings from ticket sales at Universal Studios amusement parks, according to Forbes.
No. 4 slot is taken by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of fantasy adventure film "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," who has grossed 115 million dollars during the period. The epic, the fourth installment on the popular franchise, roped in 1.1 billion dollar from North America and foreign markets, representing the highest grossing film of the series.
Record producer Dr. Dre was fifth with 110 million dollars. This sum mainly comes from sales of his signature Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.
